Negotiating Transitions to Retirement. This project will track diverse pathways in work/retirement transitions, by analysing how the present policy mix accommodates shifts in labour markets, demographic shifts and shifts in households and income distributions. Focused on cohorts aged 45 to 64, it firstly analyses national data sets to track the impact of the current policy mix in terms of income security, industrial relations, housing, health, education and training and work/life. Secondly, i ....Negotiating Transitions to Retirement. This project will track diverse pathways in work/retirement transitions, by analysing how the present policy mix accommodates shifts in labour markets, demographic shifts and shifts in households and income distributions. Focused on cohorts aged 45 to 64, it firstly analyses national data sets to track the impact of the current policy mix in terms of income security, industrial relations, housing, health, education and training and work/life. Secondly, it draws on qualitative data to further examine how these transitions are played out. The research will develop a new policy matrix for older workers that addresses risk, social exclusion and social protection.Read moreRead less
Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. This project aims to develop a policy suite to respond to an older workforce. By 2060, nearly half of Australians aged 64 or older will be employed. Failure to address their health problems could threaten Australia’s economy, tax base and provision of health and care services. This collaboration between national policy portfolios (employment, social services, workplace health and socia ....Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. This project aims to develop a policy suite to respond to an older workforce. By 2060, nearly half of Australians aged 64 or older will be employed. Failure to address their health problems could threaten Australia’s economy, tax base and provision of health and care services. This collaboration between national policy portfolios (employment, social services, workplace health and social equity) and expert scientists in work, health, social equality and policy process intends to reveal the diversity of older workers’ work-health dilemmas and effective ways for national policies to solve them. The policy suite will promote financial independence and meet social goals of equity and healthy ageing.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100543
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$308,260.00
Summary
Paid work in cash-for-care: Australia in comparative perspective. The project seeks to build an evidence base to address the public policy problem of how to develop a sustainable workforce in the publicly-funded disability sector based on quality jobs for care workers and flexible high-quality care. Under new social care arrangements, money for care is allocated directly to vulnerable people to purchase their own services. Cash-for-care changes the organisation of paid care work in ways that pos ....Paid work in cash-for-care: Australia in comparative perspective. The project seeks to build an evidence base to address the public policy problem of how to develop a sustainable workforce in the publicly-funded disability sector based on quality jobs for care workers and flexible high-quality care. Under new social care arrangements, money for care is allocated directly to vulnerable people to purchase their own services. Cash-for-care changes the organisation of paid care work in ways that pose significant risks for workers and for the development of sustainable social care workforces. This project intends to examine outcomes for care workers under cash-for-care and to identify regulatory strategies for creating quality work for paid care workers in flexible, high-quality care systems.Read moreRead less
Creating Collaborative Advantage through Better Network Governance: A Comparative Study of New Institutions and Instruments. By harnessing the embedded resources of different government and service delivery organisations operating at community level, and by removing costly boundary problems between them, governments can address the needs of citizens in a more wholistic and flexible manner. But to do this in a coherent way it is necessary to develop new institutional rules and organisational proc ....Creating Collaborative Advantage through Better Network Governance: A Comparative Study of New Institutions and Instruments. By harnessing the embedded resources of different government and service delivery organisations operating at community level, and by removing costly boundary problems between them, governments can address the needs of citizens in a more wholistic and flexible manner. But to do this in a coherent way it is necessary to develop new institutional rules and organisational processes to allow agencies to collaborate without fear of reduced accountability or syphoning of public funds. The project will examine the structures and processes used in a selection of leading international cases in order to improve Australia's performance in gaining a collaborative advantage for citizens and agencies.Read moreRead less
The high cost of financial insecurity: exploring the role of the 'fringe economy' in the lives of low-income Australians. The national benefit from this research has a number of dimensions. The first is to draw the community's attention to the high costs and charges associated with fringe lenders in Australia and the economic and social consequences of accessing these services. The second benefit relates to establishing what sorts of financial products and regulatory measures would offer low-inc ....The high cost of financial insecurity: exploring the role of the 'fringe economy' in the lives of low-income Australians. The national benefit from this research has a number of dimensions. The first is to draw the community's attention to the high costs and charges associated with fringe lenders in Australia and the economic and social consequences of accessing these services. The second benefit relates to establishing what sorts of financial products and regulatory measures would offer low-income Australians a better outcome. A number of states in Australia have recently introduced legislation to limit the interest rates charged by pay-day lenders. The study is very timely in that it offers an opportunity to monitor the impact of these new regulatory measures and consider opportunities for further reform.Read moreRead less
Ethnographies of housing: exploring the role of housing officers in public housing service provision. This research examines the everyday practice of public housing officers working in the Victorian Office of Housing. It aims to analyse the ways that workers exercise discretion, and the patterns of meanings that they construct, through their interactions with clients, departmental managers and other human service providers. It is the first ethnographic study of front-line work in housing servi ....Ethnographies of housing: exploring the role of housing officers in public housing service provision. This research examines the everyday practice of public housing officers working in the Victorian Office of Housing. It aims to analyse the ways that workers exercise discretion, and the patterns of meanings that they construct, through their interactions with clients, departmental managers and other human service providers. It is the first ethnographic study of front-line work in housing services in Australia and builds on comparable work done in the United Kingdom and America. The knowledge generated will inform innovation in public housing services, housing policy debates and emerging programs designed to integrate housing with other human services.Read moreRead less
Social Policy and Transitional Labour Markets in Australia. The fundamental aim of this project is to explore new institutional arrangements in the area of social policy to cope with structural change in both labour markets and household formation. The project uses the idea of key labour market transitions both to explore the dynamics of labour markets over the life course for individuals or groups and to envisage new types of institutional arrangements that serve to manage risk and enhance peop ....Social Policy and Transitional Labour Markets in Australia. The fundamental aim of this project is to explore new institutional arrangements in the area of social policy to cope with structural change in both labour markets and household formation. The project uses the idea of key labour market transitions both to explore the dynamics of labour markets over the life course for individuals or groups and to envisage new types of institutional arrangements that serve to manage risk and enhance people's capacity for social participation. Bringing together a diverse and high-powered group of experts with experience across a range of social policy and labour market arenas, this project will contribute to international debate on the future of the welfare state.Read moreRead less
Job quality and care quality in aged care. The project aims to investigate how job quality and the quality of care are linked in residential and community-based aged care services. Population ageing and fewer informal carers place pressure on aged care provision across the OECD There is little understanding, at either the policy or workplace levels, of how the quality of aged care jobs affects the viability and quality of that provision. The project expects to improve knowledge about how job qua ....Job quality and care quality in aged care. The project aims to investigate how job quality and the quality of care are linked in residential and community-based aged care services. Population ageing and fewer informal carers place pressure on aged care provision across the OECD There is little understanding, at either the policy or workplace levels, of how the quality of aged care jobs affects the viability and quality of that provision. The project expects to improve knowledge about how job quality affects aged care quality; and identify care markets, policy regimes and work organisation that best support sustainable quality aged care.Read moreRead less
A ten-year comparative analysis of work, benefit and skill trajectories of parallel cohorts of trade and bachelor graduates' working lives. The identification and understanding of the job, skill and benefit trajectories experienced by young skilled workers will contribute to the development of improved national workforce policies. Employers could develop more effective recruitment, retention and training practices for different types of upwardly mobile skilled workers. Governments could improve ....A ten-year comparative analysis of work, benefit and skill trajectories of parallel cohorts of trade and bachelor graduates' working lives. The identification and understanding of the job, skill and benefit trajectories experienced by young skilled workers will contribute to the development of improved national workforce policies. Employers could develop more effective recruitment, retention and training practices for different types of upwardly mobile skilled workers. Governments could improve policies to maintain and extend skilled workers, promote needed skilled trade and degree pathways to youth and develop more effective life long learning strategies for adults. Identifying the social reasons for job and skill change will also assist governments, employers and individuals to develop new educational approaches to improve recruitment, skill retention and market expansion. Read moreRead less
Interactions between Social, Economic and Regulatory Aspects of Residential Household Water Consumption. Water security is at crisis point in many Australian regions and overseas. This research will engage citizens in water conservation and management, and will have a number of significant outcomes that will benefit national and community interests. These include (1) devising effective water management strategies that are acceptable to residential customers in two contrasting water service regi ....Interactions between Social, Economic and Regulatory Aspects of Residential Household Water Consumption. Water security is at crisis point in many Australian regions and overseas. This research will engage citizens in water conservation and management, and will have a number of significant outcomes that will benefit national and community interests. These include (1) devising effective water management strategies that are acceptable to residential customers in two contrasting water service regions, (2) a generalisable and replicable model of residential household water consumption that highlights the issues of public trust in current water governance arrangements, and (3) recommendations for communication and behaviour change interventions that promote water-use efficiency and conservation, and are sensitive to regional differences.Read moreRead less